Monday, June 12, 2017

Bakery Review: Cutesy Cupcakes

It’s been awhile since I had a new cupcake bakery to
review. Actually, it feels like it’s been awhile since I’ve tried or sought out
any new bakeries. I’m still having (more than) my share of sweets but I’ve been
rolling my own, so to speak.

But a friend of mine told me about Cutesy Cupcakes.
Actually, I think our conversation went something like:

Her: Have you tried that new cupcake place?

Me: WHAT NEW CUPCAKE PLACE???

I think I went there within days of finding out about it.
According to their website, Cutesy Cupcakes was a contender on Cupcake Wars a
few years ago but they didn’t win. I don’t know which episode they were on but
I watch the reruns regularly so I will have to keep an eye out for them.

Their location provides both cupcakes and ice cream as
well as various drinks and their prices for cupcakes are on a sliding scale.
The more you buy, the cheaper the individual cupcakes are. I limited myself to
two. At least for this initial visit. Since my Boston sojourn last year, I’ve
been sampling vanilla cupcakes more than chocolate whenever I try a new bakery.
I’ve discovered that vanilla cupcakes are so simple that it’s a mark of a good
bakery to have an excellent vanilla cupcake. There’s no disguise you can make
that wouldn’t be apparent in a bad vanilla cupcake. But a good one will stand
on the simplicity of its ingredients.

The shop itself was cute. It’s not meant for a big crowd
as there weren’t many tables or places to sit but if you wanted to swing by for
a cupcake or ice cream with a friend or two, it’s a good option. The ladies
behind the counter were very friendly and quite nice, happy to provide service
with a smile and a cupcake.

My other flavor choice was a salted caramel chocolate
cupcake with caramel buttercream, a drizzle of salted caramel, sea salt
sprinkles and a chewy caramel on top. Is that a cupcake that spells my name in
glitter or what?

Each cupcake was in its own specialized cupcake to-go
container which I thought was clever and pretty packaging. It not only allowed
you to transport them safely but the clear plastic clam shell case showcased
the cupcakes in individual glory. It was definitely a step above those
cardboard cutouts meant to anchor cupcakes in place but then covered them in a
box.

The cupcakes themselves were also pretty good. I don’t
know if I would necessarily be able to distinguish them from another typical
cupcake bakery. That status is reserved for Crumbs Bake Shop, Sprinkles and
Sibby’s. Cutesy Cupcakes had more frosting than I care for (I scraped off half
of it) but they’re better than I could make. I don’t have a light hand with cupcakes
and tend to underbake them so I can’t achieve the soft fluffiness of a Crumbs
cupcake, for instance. But Cutesy’s vanilla cupcake was good and attested to
pure quality ingredients that could make a vanilla cupcake stands on its own.
The salted caramel was good as well even if I scraped off more of the frosting
and just went with the cake and caramel candy on top.

Next time I go back, I want to try the red velvet. They
were out when I visited and had only put out a new tray just as I was leaving.
I can’t eat three cupcakes so I’ll save that for next time.